Live: Frank Turner (a 4 day, 4 show roadtrip review)

Tiffiny: I had been planning a trip to Florida to visit friends, family, and warmer weather. When Frank Turner announced three tour dates in February in the Tampa/Orlando area, my vacation dates were set. I arrived in Tampa, Florida late the night before the first gig.

Mel: Only it wasn’t that warm. Florida was a balmy 45 degrees during most of Tiffiny’s holiday, but no one really wants to play central Florida in the summer. Miami gets a lot of that, but Tampa is no South Beach. I think I’m the only person in Florida who likes our summers.

So anyway, what started out as a plan to see Frank play once in Tampa and twice in Orlando while he supported punk legends Flogging Molly, turned into a four day, four show roadtrip when he added a surprise headlining show at a divey university bar in Gainesville. What follows is the true story of two girls who like Frank Turner a lot and think you should, too.

Mel: I’ve lost count of how many shows I’ve been to at The Ritz since high school. It’s a great venue and I’ve seen a lot of great bands there. When we got inside, The Architects were playing, but the sound was so fucked that I couldn’t tell you what they sounded like because it was way too loud. Frank was amazing, though. By the time he took the stage with his band (Ben on guitar, Tarrant on bass, Matt Nasir on keys and Nigel Powell on drums), sound issues were sorted and everything sounded great. Frank and his band played an incredible, high energy set that got the crowd pumped, even with a couple of guitar changes thanks to breaking strings and other technical issues.

Tiffiny: These gigs were my first time seeing Frank play with a full band (hey, I’ve gone to every Frank Turner show in my state and those have both been solo acoustic). Frank solo is something to see and definitely something I fell in love with, but the man really hits his stride with a talented backing band. The way he moves across the stage is fucking fantastic. The energy is explosive. The passion and smiles are contagious. “Reasons Not to Be an Idiot” and “Poetry of the Deed” are unbelievable with the full band striking in. I get the impression that this was the way they were meant to be played. I was happy to hear murmurs in the crowd of “this guy is really good” and to be tapped on the shoulder and asked “what was his name again?”

(Melanie photographed Frank and his band that night. You can see all of her photos from Turner’s set here.)

Tiffiny: I’m not sure when Gainesville was added to the agenda, but it was an easy choice to make. Seeing Frank Turner headline isn’t very common in my part of the world (yet). Having already traveled 1900 miles to be there, another 150 was nothing. It turned out to be absolutely worth it. I had the time of my life in that smoky little club in Gainesville. In addition to two brilliant opening acts, there were guest appearances by Jon Gaunt and Austin Lucas, which was amazing.

Mel: I love Gainesville because it’s such a fantastic little college town. They have a pretty robust punk scene, and some great local talent. We arrived at 1982 in the middle of Coffee Project‘s set, paid the $6 cover, and headed back to talk to Frank, who was hanging out at the merch table. I ended up really liking both Coffee Project and the second supporting band, Greenland is Melting, a punk/folk/bluegrass hybrid. Fellow Ruckus blogger and Gainesville resident Amy tells us that 1982 used to be a Lil Champ convenience store and I can see it; it has a certain divey charm that I really like in a bar, with walls painted black, LPs stapled to the ceiling, and thick with smoke and people.

Tiffiny: I was nothing short of floored by the Frank Turner set. There were some technical difficulties in the microphone department, but this led to my favorite track of Frank’s making it on the list, “Jet Lag”. I seriously doubted I would ever be lucky enough to hear this one at a live show and there it was. The atmosphere was great; plenty of people shouting along with the lyrics and dancing in the packed bar. I love the electricity of a show like this.

Mel: Frank’s set was phenomenal. I felt incredibly lucky to be at a headlining show, hanging out at the front with Shaun from Greenland is Melting, and Jake from Coffee Project (both are huge fans of Frank), shouting the lyrics to every song along with the rest of the crowd. We didn’t take our cameras to this show. It was the first time in months that either of us had been to a show that we weren’t working, and it was the perfect show. Amazing – easily the best gig out of the four.

Mel: I love going to shows at the House of Blues in Orlando. Sure, it’s in Downtown Disney, and yeah it’s a chain venue, but there isn’t a bad seat in the house and the sound and lighting are always awesome. Also, there are bars situated both at the back and the left sides of the venue, and another bar upstairs, which makes it really easy for me to get my booze on. I’ve been going to shows since I was fourteen years old and these are the things that I’ve come to appreciate in my old age. Also, they have food, which is good if you’re hungry.

Tiffiny: I was a little wary of seeing a show at the House of Blues. The concept of a chain venue as well as it being in Disney was a bit off-putting to me. However, I was pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed the layout and the lighting was superb, which if you’ve ever photographed a show, you’ll appreciate that as much as I did.

Mel: The Architects actually sounded fantastic this time around, which proves my theory that the sound was fucked at The Ritz on Saturday. Frank and the guys played another incredible, high energy set to a really excited crowd full of Flogging Molly fans on both nights (there were also a lot more people this time around – especially on the second night – who seemed familiar with Frank, proving that the House of Blues crowd is cooler than you think). Judging by the lineup of people waiting to talk to him after his set, it was completely clear to me that Frank has gained a lot of new fans.

(Tiffiny photographed Frank on the 16th. You can see all of her photos from his set here)

Final Thoughts:

Mel: I am tired just reading over my notes from these shows, but I wish that I could go back and live them over again. There is a reason why Frank Turner is a Ruckus favorite; his music is groundbreaking – and just so fucking good. He is one of my top five favorites to see live, and I can’t wait to see what it’s like to watch him play in London (where I’m spending a month this spring). The highlight of this roadtrip for me was hearing him sing “Photosynthesis”, “I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous,” and “Jet Lag” at his headlining gig in Gainesville.

Tiffiny: It occurs to me that Frank Turner’s lyrics are so deeply personal that
I can’t imagine anyone ever covering them with meaning, yet there I was surrounded by people that were obviously moved and find them easy to relate to in hundreds of different ways. This is just a glance into the magic of Mr. Turner. I especially enjoyed hearing “Love Ire & Song”, “Isabel”, and “Once We Were Anarchists” on this tour.

Frank’s video for his single “Isabel” debuts on Paste today, so look for more on that later today from us. You’ll also want to check out what Social Distortion’s Mike Ness said about Frank (video, about 9 minutes in but the entire interview is worth a listen).